Sonic the Hedgehog: Moments
by TheBadWolfDoctor
Summary: Neither Elise or Sonic the Hedgehog have ever met each other, so why is it that they feel such a deep connection to each other? Why do that they are missing such a big part of their lives?


**Moments**

**by James Stewart**

Elise lay on her bed and listened, eyes closed, brow furrowed in concentration. Yes, it may be a myth that the other senses compensate for the loss of another, but at this point in time, the Princess of Soleanna was prepared to try _anything_. Anything if it led to her understanding who _he_ was. The only sounds rippling through the city at this time of night, however, were the distant, elegiac tones of the Soleannan national anthem being played on an accordion, and the sonorousness of wind howling through the many alleys, brushing trees up against windows and causing wooden shutters to slam loudly against their frames. Elise liked to pretend the wind was _him_ – the unstoppable force of nature – prowling the city at night, protecting the innocent and defending the weak.

_How stupid am I? How pathetic am I?_ Elise had only seen him once, from a distance, at the Festival of the Sun, two weeks ago. And all she had seen was that turbulent vortex of blue, the tornado of power and speed, before he was gone. Of course, she knew who _he_ was: Sonic the Hedgehog. Everyone knew him. He had saved the world from Chaos, had prevented the ARK from destroying the planet, had aided in the defeat of Metallic Madness not so long ago. What had he been doing in Soleanna? It was a peaceful city; there was nothing of value, not here. She sighed, sat upright and automatically reached for the newspaper that habitually stood on her bedside table.

There were few pictures of Sonic the Hedgehog, despite his fame. This one had been taken in Station Square a few years ago, just prior to the city's destruction by Chaos. It showed Sonic and his friends standing around on a bridge. Thankfully, from Elise's point of view, the others were distant in the background, meaning that the focus of the picture was Sonic himself. _How crazy am I?_ How could you have such feelings for someone you had only seen once, whom you did not even know? Elise desperately wished there was some way she could contact him; but then, what could she possibly say? Well, she had a few ideas of what she _could_ say, but none of them seemed _right_.

Elise got up off the bed and strode over to the window; it was cold, but she did not bother putting her robe on. The view from the magnificent glass arch was every bit as beautiful as the Princess was herself: from here, you could see Soleanna in all of its majesty. You could see the spiralling tower blocks and offices of the new part of the city, you could see where they clashed with more sedate houses and winding river-routes of the old city; you could see the entrance to the forest, with its bands of oak trees and the ancient temples. Once upon a time, this view had astonished Elise; now, it was all background detail, it lacked the one feature she really wanted to witness again. "Anything," she sighed, her breathy words forming a cloud in the cold room, "anything to see him once more."

_One advantage of having fur_, thought Sonic, standing atop the highest building in Soleanna, _is you don't feel the cold so much_. Despite the warm layer of fuzz covering him, though, he still hugged his arms around his body as he surveyed the city around him. Tails had been right: this city _was_ peaceful. That had been the reason for coming here, after all. After defeating Metal Madness, Sonic had decided the group needed a break and the fox had suggested here, as they were just in time to witness the Festival of the Sun. While the flames had lit up the altar, fireworks had been going off, but for the entire time, Sonic had been transfixed by just one thing: the woman who had performed the ceremony. Princess Elise, sovereign ruler of Soleanna.

He had never seen her before, but something about her had aroused his interest. Some deep-seated feeling that he could not quite place. It was almost as if he had known her before, in a previous life, but that was impossible. Sonic had known many people in his years of adventuring; however, none of them had ever affected him quite the way she did. _Maybe it had something to do with the Chaos Emerald she had? You always act funny around those_. No, that had not been it, at all. She was clearly beautiful, with her fiery mane of red hair, her sparkling blue eyes and clear, alabaster skin, but _no_, that had not been it either. Sonic appreciated beauty, but often found those who were attractive lacked character.

The hedgehog sighed, wishing there was someone he could talk to about his feelings. A woman's intuition was always a good thing to seek out, but Sonic suspected that Amy Rose _might_ not be the right person to talk to about this: she was intelligent, yes, but she had a malicious possessive streak that made mentioning other women a bit of a problem. He sat down on the cold ledge and wondered if it was a problem with _himself_: the person who was attracted to him was still a child; the person he was attracted to was unattainable, a princess. _Oh, so you're admitting you are attracted to her, now, are you?_ Sonic wished he could place the feeling, wished he could understand where this sense of deja vu came from.

He had never been to Soleanna before, yet all the architecture was familiar to him. Not in the sense that he knew every nook and cranny, but there were certain buildings – the train station, for instance – that he could have swore he had been to. Even the people seemed oddly recognisable: the accordion player they had met on their first day here, for instance, Sonic could have sworn he had heard the tune he had played before. "_A song for our Princess, Elise,_" he had explained. The hedgehog watched the last of the boats sail by, languidly drifting through the waters that wormed their way through the heart of the city.

"Time to go," he decided, sparing one last look at the imposing structure of Soleanna Castle. Staying too long in once place made him edgy and restless; whatever mysteries this city had, he would have to come back to them another day. There was still a world out there to explore; a world of danger, excitement, peril and promise. If there was something to this connection with Elise, then it would have to resolve itself in the fullness of time. Nimbly, the hedgehog hopped down to a building slightly lower down, then to the street and, in a blur of blue, he was gone.

**The End**


End file.
